The Julia Vadala Taft Award recognizes a leader who has generated greater awareness in the U.S. of global poverty, and promoted ways to impact the lives of children around the world. It celebrates the leadership of an individual within the U.S. international non-profit community whose career and vision have transcended their own organization by raising the influence and profile of the U.S. NGO sector as a whole.

Candidates are nominated by their peers and this is InterAction’s premier lifetime achievement award.

“Rich, we recognize your advocacy for foreign assistance resources and how you have used your considerable influence as a faith based leader and ability for access for the good of the sector. You have played an indispensable role in ensuring that the evangelical community is engaged in InterAction and the creation of partnerships with a broad array of NGOs from different faith and secular orientations.

“On a personal note, thank you for the work you did at the start of your career at World Vision, during the onset of the AIDS pandemic, as you reached out to congregations across the country. Your talks in hundreds of churches created the backbone of the US compassionate conservative movement that enabled the creation of PEPFAR. Congratulations, Rich, on this award. I cannot think of a more deserving person to honor.”

The award will be presented during InterAction Forum, June 13, 2018, at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington D.C.

World Vision is a Christian humanitarian organization dedicated to working with children, families, and their communities worldwide to reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice. World Vision serves all people, regardless of religion, race, ethnicity, or gender.